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Guillermo del Toro Wants Benedict Cumberbatch for His 'Frankenstein'

After making waves as the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness earlier this summer, Benedict Cumberbatch will cause some trouble for Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as the treasure hoarding dragon. However, a potential future role might have the actor treading familiar ground. In the same article where yesterday's news about Charlie Kaufman working on Slaughterhouse Five for Guillermo del Toro surfaced, there lies another tidbit. From The Daily Telegraph (via The Playlist), del Toro hopes that his Crimson Peak star will take the lead in his long gestating adaptation of Frankenstein.

As far back as 2009, del Toro's go to creature performer, Doug Jones, was supposed to be the man for the job, but it sounds like the director's plans have changed. Of course, at this point the idea of having Cumberbatch fill the role is likely only a hope, and with all the projects del Toro has on his plate, it will probably be another few years before it can even be considered a reality. But having Cumberbatch take the role would be exciting after the actor enjoyed a two month run in London in a stage version of the classic tale. Even more interesting is that fact that Cumberbatch would alternate the role of the monster and Dr. Frankenstein with co-star Jonny Lee Miller. Perhaps they can reteam again for this adaptation?

Either way, there are plenty of Frankenstein stories coming up. Aaron Eckhart is slated to lead I, Frankenstein, a less traditional look at the monstrous story. And Fox is working on another Frankenstein film with Daniel Radcliffe starring and a release planned for 2014. Again, by the time del Toro gets around to his own adaptation, these projects will be in the past, so there's no worry of overlap or competition. For now we'll have to wait and see how Universal handles Frankenstein and see of del Toro ever gets around to directing it. In the meantime, see monsters in his film Pacific Rim this weekend.